Togo API-ZF SAZOF Dissolution: Reforms Investment Promotion

• Togo's Council of Ministers approved decrees on August 26, 2026, dissolving the Free Zone Administration Company (SAZOF).
• The Investment Promotion and Free Zone Agency (API-ZF) has had its powers strengthened and mandate expanded to include industrial zone development and management.
• SAZOF's functions, assets, liabilities, and employees are being transferred to API-ZF under the 2019 Investment Code.
• The reform aims to streamline the investment-promotion system, enhance API-ZF's operational capacity, and attract more private capital to Togo.
• New regulatory frameworks introduce strengthened transparency and oversight mechanisms for investment approvals and incentives.

The comprehensive restructuring reflects a concerted effort to optimize the environment for foreign direct investment and ensure the transparent application of investment incentives within Togo's free zones.

Togo's Council of Ministers recently enacted significant reforms aimed at consolidating the nation's investment promotion and free zone administration. On Wednesday, August 26, 2026, decrees were adopted to officially dissolve the Free Zone Administration Company, known by its French acronym SAZOF. This move simultaneously strengthens the capabilities and expands the mandate of the Investment Promotion and Free Zone Agency (API-ZF).

The dissolution of SAZOF marks the end of an entity established in 1994, which had been responsible for administering Togo's industrial free zone and providing support to companies operating within it. Its functions, along with all associated powers, assets, and liabilities, are now being transferred to the API-ZF. This comprehensive transfer also includes the integration of SAZOF's employees into the API-ZF, ensuring continuity under existing applicable regulations.

The newly adopted regulatory framework meticulously outlines the API-ZF's updated responsibilities, organizational structure, and operational procedures. Crucially, the agency's mandate has been significantly broadened to encompass the development and comprehensive management of industrial zones across the country. This expanded role includes the vital function of making suitable sites readily available to prospective investors, a key component of the nation's industrial growth strategy.

According to the government, this reform is designed to equip the API-ZF with an institutional framework that is more coherent, flexible, and ultimately more efficient. The overarching goal is to bolster Togo's attractiveness to international investors, thereby facilitating the inflow of increased private capital. This strategic realignment is expected to provide robust support for the country's ongoing industrial development initiatives, aligning with Togo's broader ambition to mobilize greater private investment.

The integration of SAZOF's operations into the API-ZF is intended to streamline Togo's entire investment-promotion system. By centralizing these critical functions, the government anticipates a significant enhancement of the API-ZF's operational capacity, leading to more efficient processes for investors. This consolidation is underpinned by provisions within the 2019 Investment Code, which governs the transfer of SAZOF's former responsibilities and assets.

Furthermore, the new regulatory framework introduces strengthened mechanisms for transparency and oversight, specifically targeting the processes for approving investments and granting incentives. This focus on clear and accountable procedures aims to build greater confidence among investors and ensure equitable application of investment policies. The comprehensive restructuring reflects a concerted effort to optimize the environment for foreign direct investment and ensure the transparent application of investment incentives within Togo's free zones.

Lawyers advising clients on investments or operations within Togo's free zones must now direct all inquiries and applications to the strengthened API-ZF, which has absorbed SAZOF's functions. This consolidation aims to streamline processes but also introduces new oversight mechanisms for investment approvals and incentives, requiring careful review of the updated regulatory framework.

Source: Reporting based on official government announcements.